U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Challenge to Virginia Asbestos Trial

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court has once again said it won't get in the way of a massive asbestos trial amid claims by a defendant that the manner in which the case is being tried violates its right to due process. Hopeman Brothers, Inc. v. Acker, et al., No. 02-520 (U.S. Sup. Ct.).

In an order issued Dec. 9, the nation's highest court refused to grant certiorari in the case - the second time in three months that the Supreme Court has declined to settle a dispute over a mass asbestos trial. The court previously denied certiorari in …